where can i find cheat sheets to keep in my photo bag to help me remember all the "rules" about aperture/shutter speed/iso, etc.?? free ones would be good, but i'm willing to shell out a few bucks for ones that are helpful and easy to understand.
any suggestions??
thanks!!

Sorry for the sarcasm, but most of the 'rules' are intended to be simple enough to keep in your head, so you don't need to look things up whle you are trying to take photos. Developed, mostly in the days when everything was manual.

Which of the rules are you interested in, or what is giving you trouble? Sometimes it just takes some time and experience with your camera to figure out what you need to do in a given situation.

What kind of info are you looking for exactly. There really is no set rules. The best thing to do is go out an try different settings.

There are day I like to shoot wide open in daylight and shooting down in the 3.5-4.5 ranges. Then there are days I want allot of dof. So I shoot stop down at f10-13.

And after I take the shot if it looks or the histogram to check if it got over or under expose, I use the EV to correct accordingly.

ISO you generally want to use the lowest you can if possible, to get the highest image quality. In bright sunlight 100 or 200 works really well. But there are time I want sharpness so I stop down the lens. But still want very fast shutter speed. So I set to 1600iso in daylight at f10-14 and I get 1/3000-1/4000 sec shutter speed.

Also when I shoot in very low light I will use 3200-6400 with the largest aperture if I am not using a flash. But the lighting will determine what I can get away with.

So just go out and play with different setting, if you do not like the results, just delete them.

sarcasm or not, i think i might look for that app!!!! i bet there is one! ha!

i am an extreme newbie-just took the camera out of the box last night. i'm just looking for something to reference so that i'm not fumbling around trying to remember what settings to use when i'm out taking pics of my family. (my husband is impatient enough when i'm trying to get a good shot!!!) i was thinking maybe there was a chart of something that had if/then situations on it!
of course, i can just keep it on auto till i get all this memorized!
shoturtle--your answer was helpful! thanks!

To start out, you are well off using the camera's full auto setting. The photographers and engineers who created the camera put a lot of thought into it, and in most cases, under most conditions, it will give you a good picture.
All your photos (in jpeg format) have Exif information attached, and you can read the settings either with your camera, or with a computer program. Look at this info, and see what the camera came up with for exposure settings in different situations. The pictures you like will provide tips on what to do in similar situations, and the ones you don't will show you what to avoid.
It really isn't too complicated, but can seem confusing at first, and it does take time to understand. Most important thing is to have fun doing it, and not take it too seriously.
And there may very weel be an app - and if not yet, then pretty soon.

Location: In mountainous California or Arizona or Guatemala or somewhere.

Posts: 224

Actually, there are some iPhone apps, or so I've heard. Not having any iStuff, I can't suggest anything except some intensive gargling, er I mean googling.

Yes, shoot full auto at first. Yes, when you move the pictures to your computer, read the EXIF data and see what worked and what didn't. And read up on exposure. And practice practice practice...

My dad was old-school. He used medium-format cameras that shot 2 1/4 inch (6cm) wide film, and he carried a light meter and a notebook. And for every shot, he wrote down details: date, time, location, meter reading, aperture, shutter, focus. And his shots were always dead-on, because he paid attention to detail. I'm much lazier. I let the camera note all that stuff (location too, when I get a GPS unit). But my camera still isn't as smart as my dad was. Darn.

__________________Too many film+digi cams+lenses, oh my -- Pentax K20D, ZX-M, M42's, P&S's, more
The opposite of LIBERAL is not CONSERVATIVE, but ENSLAVED.

...
All your photos (in jpeg format) have Exif information attached, and you can read the settings either with your camera, or with a computer program. Look at this info, and see what the camera came up with for exposure settings in different situations. The pictures you like will provide tips on what to do in similar situations, and the ones you don't will show you what to avoid.
...
brian

If you don't have one, get an EXIF reader. Likely one came with your camera. You might find a better one by asking in the forum for your specific camera.